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Thread: Edward Snowden: Traitor or Hero?

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    Lincoln's Avatar
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    Edward Snowden: Traitor or Hero?

    This may have been brought up before but I saw something on the news and I just wanted to start a new discussion.

    On Fox News, I just heard one of the reporters refer to Edward Snowden as a snake.

    We all know I'm a hippy liberal, but this is really something I'm passionate about.

    I think that the worst thing you can do is to stand by when people do bad things. I think that Edward Snowden would be a snake if he sat by and let the government lie to the people.

    I think he's a fucking hero and to condemn the guy for exposing corruption is ridiculous.

    What do you guys think?
    Be sure you put your feet in the right place, then stand firm.

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    Katie Mama Bear's Avatar
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    Now I'm no expert in the history of US politics, but wasn't a major reason for the war for independence to make a country free from a tyrannical government? That's why there's the guns, so people can rise up against the government if need be? I can understand people seeing Snowden as a traitor, but I see a government who works against the interests of the people as traitorous.

    We have a minor political party here called the Pirate Party, which has a main focus on freedom of information. It's important to be able to trust the powers in control, but trust is earned.

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    Lincoln's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by bacchus View Post
    Now I'm no expert in the history of US politics, but wasn't a major reason for the war for independence to make a country try from a tyrannical government? That's why there's the guns, so people can rise up against the government if need be? I can understand people seeing Snowden as a traitor, but I see a government who works against the interests of the people as traitorous.

    We have a minor political party here called the Pirate Party, which has a main focus on freedom of information. It's important to be able to trust the powers in control, but trust is earned.
    A lack of political freedom and dialogue caused citizens in the Revolutionary War to take up arms against their government.

    I think publicly releasing information (Snowden) is a much more peaceful solution. If we celebrate one, why do we want to prosecute the other?
    Be sure you put your feet in the right place, then stand firm.

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    This topic upsets me - I have a lot to say about it, but unfortunately right now I just am going to share generalizations.

    I'm a US citizen. I am not a "conspiracy theorist" - but I think that term even is a derogatory way to discourage anyone from seriously questioning the government. I'm not sure how it got to this point - surely huge media outlets like Fox have an influence, as well as the increasingly poor quality of public schools, but today people are unable to critically think about the actions of government officials - we follow and trust the government so blindly.

    The US is literally rooted in violent rebellion. But today people are so removed from that, and our current government is placed on such a pedestal, people don't even know how to examine and understand what is really going on. It is so easy for people to become corrupt, and American government officials are no different.

    Edward Snowden is a hero, hands down. If people realized that the laws he broke we put in place to protect the government rather than the people, then more would agree with me.

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    I mean by definition the guy is a traitor. He technically sold out Government secrets, he betrayed trust, he was not loyal and went against the Government in his actions, and even ran away. By those terms he is a traitor.

    However, in the practical sense of things this guy was doing what no one else had the balls to do. I mean he openly sourced evidence of corruption. That is a big deal, a big big deal. And a huge no-no in the faces of the corrupt that already rule the World. That is no exaggeration, the World is run by a handful of individuals and their big corporations.

    I am not a conspiracy theorist, I do like to read about the subjects but I do not become involved in it. I am a "sheep" in that sense, I know it exists, I know the corruption happens, but there is no way I am going to go out and do something about it. I have seen in public the finger painted signs saying something along the lines of "we need the truth" or "lies exposed burn in hell", good for you you just made yourself look crazy and nothing has changed People have done that sort of thing once they learn of the corruption and audacities that have occurred. No one cares. And that is the reality of the situation. Snowden can expose all the wants but nothing is going to be done about it. Those in power will squash those who try to put and end to it. This is why Snowden cannot leave his asylum. If he takes one step from that protection the US Government will kill him....I mean...he will have a heart attack and get into a freak car accident.


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    I have to agree that Snowden is a hero. If he had sold those secrets to another country, then I'd probably have a different opinion but he was informing the American people of what their government was doing. That's something that shouldn't even be an issue in the first place. If I could, I'd thank him for what he did and starting the commotion that he did. It opened up the eyes of some people and started the conversation on what the government is doing to its own people.

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    I consider him a hero and I think it's shameful what an ordeal he went through after what he did. I hope he finds a better life elsewhere.

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    He's a traitor, there's no doubt about it. The American people don't necessarily need to know EVERYTHING. How has your life gotten better since he stole all that sensitive information and made it public? What are some things that you feel you are better off knowing than not knowing?

    One thing he did was provide our enemies with sensitive information that they otherwise would not have had. You can bet your ass that he has profited quite a bit off of that. Information is power. There are some very wealthy people who benefited from him doing what he did.

    Transparency in government is a dream. Obama preached transparency when he took office and he has been anything but in many different ways. That's neither here nor there though. Snowden is a traitor for stealing secrets, that he shouldn't even have had access to, and then making them public. Im no expert in all the information that was stolen but who is to say some of that information didn't lead to people getting killed? Operations exposed, personally identifiable information made public to our enemies. The inner workings of our nations cyber command out in the open so that or enemies know how to get around our defenses. All of these things and more make him a traitor.
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    Edward Snowden didn't only expose the horrible side of the U.S. government, but he also exposed the level of corruption in various leading governments as well, and the leaks continue. Call him a traitor all you want, but he set off a movement for the demand of transparency. The world can choose how they want to interact with the information. Let's be clear, the only parties directly affected by the leaks and whistleblowing are the governments involved. The citizens couldn't care less, for example, I'm certain that Russian citizens aren't a fan of the US Government, but I'm sure they think Americans as people are fine and dandy. Don't let governmental propaganda stand in the way of human nature. We're still in a world where people are curious about other people... and human kindness tends to prevail overall (governments and political ideologies aside.)

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    Quote Originally Posted by freshoffthetrev View Post
    We're still in a world where people are curious about other people... and human kindness tends to prevail overall (governments and political ideologies aside.)
    Depending on what country you live in

    (you need an account to see links)

    That was just this past year and we still get stories about it. I agree with @(you need an account to see links) that he is a traitor for stealing government secrets and selling them. You bet your ass he got paid for it. And it left our country vulnerable in regards to cyber security. Hell wasn't it just last week it was all over the news that the DNC emails were hacked by Russia and "leaked" via wikileaks?

    Julian Assange and wikileaks I think is the greater threat though. He wants all information to be public. He's posted private emails, home addresses, credit card information, sexual preferences, bank records or people. Yes they haven't been Joe Blow but everyone has a right to privacy. He also isn't as impartial as he claims since, you know, he decided not to publish any of the stuff he had on Donald Trump during the election. Oh and he had a Russian talk show.


    Hmm, did what Snowden do make it easier for Russia to grow these kinda balls as to hack a political parties email system and try to influence our election?







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